The film begins with a reminder that "This story is true." A skeptical reporter played by Ewan McGregor interviews a former military "psychic spy" (Jeff Bridges) and learns about the New Earth Army, a government-funded experiment back in the early 1980s where soldiers developed special powers that could cause a goat to fall over dead by staring into its eyes.
After the reporter's wife leaves him, he takes off in search of a good story to write about. The movie takes him on a journey to the middle east, where he encounters George Clooney, a retired soldier who had been reactivated after 9/11 for a secret mission. He turns out to be connected to the New Earth Army and allows the reporter to follow him through expansive sand dunes on a journey to an unknown destination.
Flashbacks show a younger long-haired Clooney during his unconventional training as a "warrior monk" under Jeff Bridges. Cast perfectly as the pot-smoking, jacuzzi-soaking new-age hippie instructor, the Bridges character is full of hope for leading the military through a transformation to a kinder gentler organization. It was during those years that the army tagline "Be all that you can be" emerged.
McGregor and Clooney end up at a "Psyops" unit prison camp in Iraq lead by Kevin Spacey. All kinds of craziness unfolds and we see prisoners subjected to repetitive play of the annoying Sesame Street Barney The Purple Dinosaur song I Love You (sounds like torture to me)...
I love you--you love me.
We're a happy family.
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you,
won't you say you love me too?
This is a fun comedy if you can put aside judgment for awhile. I left feeling curious to know more about what may have been implemented as a result of all the experiments.
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